YouTube Tests New Direct Messaging Feature on Mobile to Share Videos, Shorts, and Live Streams

YouTube is one of the most loved music streaming platforms, with 2.7 billion monthly active users globally. The app has been a long-standing app, offering favorite music, songs, videos, and more to users worldwide. Now, in a new report, Google is testing a new feature on YouTube that will make it a lot easier to share videos. This will be a more seamless and interactive way to connect with friends over content you enjoy, including long-form videos, Shorts, and live streams.

YouTube Direct Messaging Feature

The upcoming YouTube Direct Messaging feature will require users to be 18 years or older. Also, you have to sign in to a YouTube channel. If you want to invite your friends, then you will have to tap on the notification bell icon and then select the option to share, generating an active invite link.

As soon as the recipient accepts the invite, both users will be able to receive notifications. After setup, sharing videos will become simple and you only need to tap the share button under any video, select a contact from the list, and start a conversation.

Users can also manage their messages by long-pressing a conversation to unsend or delete messages.

Availability

Currently, the YouTube direct messaging experiment is limited to mobile users in Poland and Ireland. The tech giant has not yet announced when or if this feature will be rolled out to other countries. Google is testing the functionality and will gather feedback on usability and security and then consider it for the global release.

Why This Feature Matters

This addition could change the way YouTube users interact with content and each other. By keeping video sharing and conversations inside the app, users can avoid switching between multiple messaging platforms. It also opens up possibilities for creating small, private discussions around videos, making the app more social and engaging.